Ivory Coast inflation falls to 1.2 pct in May - stats office

ABIDJAN, July 6 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's consumer price inflation fell to 1.2 percent year-on-year in May from 1.4 percent in April, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Monday.

The monthly report showed that food and soft drink prices were up 1.7 percent, while housing and utility prices increased 2 percent over the period. Healthcare prices climbed 0.3 percent and communications costs were unchanged.

The economy of the world's top cocoa grower makes up around 40 percent of the eight-nation West African CFA franc currency zone. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Daniel Flynn)